Sermon – The Omnipresence of God
Categories: Sermon Outlines, Topical Sermon OutlinesSermon – THE OMNIPRESENCE OF GOD
(Jeremiah 23:23)
INTRODUCTION:
A. In the thirteenth year of Josiah, Jeremiah was called to his prophetic office in about 627 BC
1. His preaching was done during early Babylonian period, through the fall of Jerusalem (586 BC), and into the captivity.
2. The work of this great prophet was God’s last effort to bring Judah to repentance, and thus avert the coming calamities of destruction and captivity.
B. In Jeremiah 22, Jeremiah had been denouncing the sins of the sons and grandsons of Josiah
1. Josiah had been a righteous king on the throne of Judah, whose death was mourned by Jeremiah (2 Ch. 35:25), but his sons were wicked men who ruled by force and corruption.
2. In chapter 23 we find Jeremiah setting forth a series of prophecies and condemnations against the civil and religious leaders of God’s people.
3. In this chapter God places the blame on the:
a. Shepherds
1) Jeremiah 23:1-2
2) They were scattering the flock – they were not feeding or caring for the flock of God
b. Prophets and priests
1) Jeremiah 23:9-16
2) They brake the heart of God
3) The are ungodly liars
4) They cause God’s people to err
5) They do not speak out of the mouth of the Lord
c. Concerning these false prophets, the Lord said:
1) Jeremiah 23:21
2) As a side note we might ask, “Are the true prophets running to preach the word of God, or is it only the false prophet?”
C. It was in this time of great apostasy that the Lord said … Jeremiah 23:23-24
1. Did the false prophets think that God would not be aware of their evil doings?
2. Notice God said:
a. “I found” … v. 11
b. “I have seen” … vs. 13-14
c. “I have heard” … v. 25
3. God is saying, “I know what you have done, I know what you are doing, because I am a God at hand and not afar off, and your evil doings will not go unpunished.”
4. God is announcing that there is nothing that happens in this world that escapes His attention.
D. From this proclamation of God we learn many valuable truths – two of these are:
1. God is omnipresent
2. God has interest and knowledge of all that occurs on the earth and in our lives, whether it be good or bad.
E. Let us now look more closely at what the Almighty means when He says, “Am I a God at hand and not afar off?”
DISCUSSION:
A. WHAT IS THE MEANING, DEFINITION OF OMNIPRESENCE?
1. Augustus Hopkins Strong in his book Systematic Theology states “…that God, in the totality of his essence, without diffusion or expansion, multiplication of division, penetrates and fills the universe in all its parts.”
2. Walter Thomas Conner in his book Revelation and God writes, “The omnipresence of God has reference to God’s immanence in the spatial and temporal order, and means that he is immanent in that order at all points of time and space. The omnipresence of God means that he is everywhere present in space and time. There is no point of space, no moment of time, where God is not present.”
3. Simply put, omnipresent means “that God is everywhere at the same time – there is no place He is not – and as a result there is not one thing that goes on that God is not aware of.”
B. THE FACT OF GOD’S OMNIPRESENCE
1. Psalm 139:1-10
a. He is acquainted with all our ways
b. There is no place that God is not
2. Proverbs 15:3
a. Is aware of all that happens – good or bad
b. The old song … Watching You (an eye watching you)
3. Acts 17:22-28
a. If God is not far from each person on earth, he must be in every part of the earth at the same time
b. If we live, move, and have our being in God, He must be everywhere
C. THE EFFECT OF THE OMNIPRESENCE OF GOD
1. Since we know that God is everywhere and that He is interested in the happenings of this world, what effect should this have on our lives?
2. It should be a deterrent to sin
a. Knowing that God sees all, knows all, and is in every place – should this not cause us to want to speak better, act better, and think better?
b. Children will sometimes do things when their parents are not present which they would refrain from doing in the presence of their parents.
c. How much more should we refrain from doing evil knowing that we are always in the presence of the Lord?
d. Job said concerning God – Job 23:15
e. Again, remember – Proverbs 15:3
3. It should give us great encouragement
a. Genesis 28:15
1) If God would not leave Jacob would God leave or forsake His faithful followers today? NO!
2) Should this not be a great encouragement to us today?
b. Psalm 34:15-22
1) Because God is omnipresent and has concern for us, He:
a) Hears the prayers and cries of help from the faithful
b) He is near the broken-hearted
c) He is near to deliver us
2) Can you think of a more encouraging passage in all of the Bible?
c. Psalm 115:9-12 – God is mindful of us! No one slips His attention
d. Psalm 120:1
1) There’s the divine presence of the Lord in our lives, thus …
2) Psalm 121:1-4
e. Because of the omnipresence of God we know that the words of Isaiah 25:4 are true
f. Matthew 6:25-32
1) God knows our every need
2) How? His Omnipresence
g. Matthew 28:20
4. The omnipresence should encourage us to believe in the providence of God
a. I do not know all I would like to know about providence of God – but I know it exists: e.g. Joseph and Esther
b. I know God can work things out providentially because He is omnipresent
5. The fact of the omnipresence of God should put fear into the hearts of the wicked.
a. They cannot flee His presence
1) Adam and Eve tried (Gen. 3)
2) Jonah tried (Jonah 1:3)
b. There will be no secret place to form ungodly plans – no hidden place to practice wickedness that God will not see
c. This should put fear into the hearts of the wicked!
CONCLUSION:
A. To the ungodly the omnipresence and watchful eye of the Almighty bring about horror
B. To the faithful child of God the omnipresence and watchful eye of God brings us encouragement and motivation